Joint custody and housing need

goz83

My brother is separated from his wife and they have 2 kids of 6 & 8 (girl and boy). They are both unemployed and she is on rent allowance in a 2 bed apartment. He also has rent allowance, but was unable to find accommodation. They have joint custody, of which he spends 3 nights with the kids and he lives at my home.

He is on the council list (currently near the top) but for some reason, he is down for a 1 bed accommodation. He contacted DCC about this and according to one of their senior staff, my brother is not considered a primary carer. He was told by the social welfare that the children must have their own rooms, but the senior council official has said that the welfare are lying to him and that he is only allowed a single bed accommodation and hos kids are not listed on his claim. He is really stressed about this now. I have a couple of questions that perhaps some of you might be able to answer.

1) Should the council have my brothers kids listed on his application, considering that he has joint custody amd has them three nights per week?

2) Are the children allowed to stay with him (legally) in a 1 bed, or bedsit?

It has been my experience that children of a certain age with mixed genders are to accommodated in separate rooms? A recent court ruling ( http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/court-says-children-should-be-factor-in-father-s-rent-allowance-1.1982594 ) of similar circumstances regarding the rights of the children in relation to their father is encouraging.

I am hoping he can be housed soon, because I have my four children and it's becoming really difficult to have another family here half the week.

MouseTail

As his ex is in reciept of RA, I would imagine the childrens housing needs are deemed met by the State. This is dealt with on a case by case basis, but it would seem crazy that the State would be expected to house the children twice.

goz83

MouseTail wrote: »

As his ex is in reciept of RA, I would imagine the childrens housing needs are deemed met by the State. This is dealt with on a case by case basis, but it would seem crazy that the State would be expected to house the children twice.

The needs of the children would not be met if they were unable to stay with the other parent, who has 50% custody. My brother has been granted rent allowance already for a 2 bed accommodation. He found a 1 bed, but the SW refused it, because the kids are mixed gender of a certain age. As it currently stands, they sleep in one room with my brother when he has them. This is between my home and my fathers home.

I agree, it's crazy for the tax payer to be paying twice for something, but I would more quickly point to the waste, which is the rent allowance, which has no security for anybody, because landlords are hiking the rent up.

The circumstances above are not unique, but it is wholly unfair and discriminatory for the mother to be homed and the father to be largely ignored, which has an impact on the well being of the children.

The SW insist that he has to find a 2 bed accommodation, where the DCC insist that the kids are considered in his application, despite him having 50% custody. If his wife were to go on the housing list, the kids would be included in her application, even if my brother had a place with rent allowance covering it. Does that sound fair? And this information came from the mouth of a council official. He said that the mother is seen as the primary carer and she would need to apply to get a 2+ bed council accommodation. When roles are reversed, the mother still gets the Lions share.

Ideally, my brother woukd be working, but this has not been possible and his mental health has suffered from the set of circumstances he has found himself in.

MouseTail

Who has 'primary care and control' of the children, who receives child benefit?

goz83

MouseTail wrote: »

Who has 'primary care and control' of the children, who receives child benefit?

There is no primary carer, as custody is shared 50/50. In actual fact, the father in this case has more contact hours with the kids, but on paper, it's 50/50. However, the mother receives the child benefit, but the system is discriminatory here, because 50/50 custody/access automatically awards the child benefit to the mother. See here => http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056291289

Even where father win full custody, it is often very difficult to have the benefit passed from mum to dad. I can't find a link, but there was a recent case where the SW were refusing to pay benefit to a father who had been granted full custody. It was on the radio this month.

I appreciate where you're coming from, but the facts in this case are:

i) the father shares 50/50 custody, signed and witnessed by solicitor.
ii) the mother cannot and would not take the kids full time and every night.
iii) the mother would not allow the father to take care of the children at her accommodation (she has a boyfriend she can and does stay with).
iv) if/when the father is accommodated in a single bedroom/bedsit, he will have the kids stay with him at least 3 nights per week.
v) the mother would and already has kicked up a stink when it was suggested in mediation to split the child benefit equally, as the father had the kids 50% of the time.

I for one, do not think that it is healthy for the kids to be in such a situation and I can see obvious problems with the kids behaviour and it almost certainly has to do with all the moving around and the fact that they have nowhere to call home half the week. I'm only here looking for possible ways to help their situation and to return my own family home to normal. Thanks.

Gatling

In situations like this there's no easy solutions either your brother moves to somewhere where he can comfortably afford to rent .
Which most likely won't suit anybody.
Or your brother tries to get back on his feet and try to rent on his own .

having shared with family members and other families it's never comfortable for anyone involved .
He could be waiting literally years to be housed by any local authorities.
As much as it sounds cold your brother needs to be proactive about his situation too.
I do hope things work out for all involved

goz83

Since finding himself unemployed, he tried retraining, taking a number of courses. He had a breakdown largely due to his wife refusing access when he couldn't pay her money (this was not including maintenance, which he always paid, despite having the kids half the time).

Anyway, lets imagine he found work. The cheapest 1 bed apartment in north county dublin is around €800. At best, he would be paid €1400 per month. He is not academic and would only be suited to service/labour roles. With bills, food and then the maintenance he still pays (even though custody is 50/50) he would be in minus figures. He would also lose his medical card, which he needs for continued medication and his GP has advised the SW not to bother him because of his situation.

He is near the top of the list for social housing. He would be more likely to be able to work and suppost himself if he is housed by the council, which would give some sort of stability. Tough one, isn't it?

mp22

I will closed this as we are entering the realms of speculation.